22 April,2011 08:38 AM IST | | Sheetal Sukhija
Commuters driving towards the Central Business District were in for a surprise yesterday afternoon when they were greeted by the sight of a model clad in lettuce leaves, carrying a placard.
Don't be cruel: It took a moment for people to realise what they were
seeing. However, after reading the placard it was clear that the model
was promoting vegetarianism. Pic/Ramesh HS
It took a moment for them to realise what they were seeing, but after reading the placard it was clear that the model was promoting vegetarianism on behalf of The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PeTA).
The city is no stranger to promotional events, but this one stood out as one of the classiest yet hard-hitting PeTA campaigns organised in the city by far.
The event was organised a day before Earth Day, and displayed messages encouraging people to avoid meat-based food and go vegetarian.
Bhuvaneshwari Gupta, the campaign coordinator, said, "We are promoting the idea of going vegetarian on Earth Day. Consumption of meat is harmful, as livestock products are loaded with fat and cholesterol. Besides, animals are slaughtered using cruel methods. We are against this cruelty and don't want to put this message across in a bland way. Therefore, we chose this mode and it worked quite well."
About 20 activists from the city actively promoted their initiative. Milin Desai said, "This is the first time we're organising anything of this sort here. All I tell people is, if you care about the planet then this is the right time to go vegetarian."
Another activist reiterated the point. "I turned vegan two months ago, but I've been vegetarian for over seven years now. It takes a lot of maturity to make this move and I think this initiative has worked well on Bangaloreans too," said Latha Naidu, an activist.
Grabbing looks
The Lettuce Lady sure drew a lot of attention, but the campaign brought traffic to a crawl as well.
Traffic police from around Cubbon Park were called in to regulate vehicles and to prevent jams as ogling riders and drivers refused to budge.
One bystander said, "It was quite fascinating for me since I thought that it would be just another monotonous day, until I laid eyes on the lettuce lady." While several people shared the same sentiment, some were frustrated with the chaotic snarl ups.
Traffic Police Commissioner Praveen Sood however, was not impressed and stated that it was unfortunate that activists think that by blocking traffic they will be heard.
"People today somehow seem to think that blocking traffic to further their mandate will help them to get attention. It does not seem right to cause inconvenience to others to be heard. A skimpily-clad woman
walking on the road with a placard is bound to cause a lot of chaos. It did arouse much curiosity, but many people have noble ideas, and there are better ways to present it," he said.
